Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“You did okay for yourself,” Mom argues, and I close my eyes and let out a frustrated breath.
“I didn’t, not at first anyway. I was free to make choices, and a lot of them were bad ones.”
“You never said anything,” Dad defends, and I shake my head.
“Even if I wanted to ask you guys for advice, it would take days to get word to you.”
“We didn’t know,” Mom murmurs, and I look at her.
“That’s my point. You guys as parents should have wanted to know what was going on, how we were doing. Not, ‘They will find their own way.’ Even when I sent you letters explaining things that were going on, you weren’t there. You two just live here in your little bubble, where nothing ever penetrates. It’s not fair to me, and it it’s not fair to Morgan.”
Turning when I hear Morgan’s whimper, I watch tears fall from her eyes and her body shake.
“We’re sorry you felt like that way,” Dad says gruffly, and I hear a sound of distress come from my mom as she gets up and moves to Morgan, wrapping her in a hug.
“I can’t do this alone, Dad. I’ve been doing it alone for too long, and I can’t do it anymore,” I whisper, and his hand comes across the table and I place my hand in his.
I don’t know if things are going to change, but I really hope they do.
Chapter 8
Sven
Second chances
“I fucked up,” I mutter as soon as Asher answers the phone.
Asher has been my best friend since I was ten. I would hide out at his house every chance I got. He knew what was going on with my mom, was there when shit went down, and his parents took me in while my dad recovered in the hospital. He’s the best man I know, a man I respect and a man who laughed his ass off when I told him months ago that Maggie was driving me to the brink of insanity.
“Give me a sec,” he mumbles, and I hear him moving around. I’m sure he’s in bed with his wife, November, or has one of his girls close and is trying to get away so he can talk. Hearing a door open on his end, I wander into the den and take a seat in the dark, feeling my nostrils flare when I sit on something hard and know it’s one of Maggie’s books.
When Justin called and told me that Maggie was with her sister, I didn’t even think, or I did, but none of it was good. All I kept seeing was my dad, his constant excuses for my mom’s behavior, what that led to. It’s not an excuse for my behavior, but it’s the truth. By the time I realized what the fuck I did, what I asked Maggie to do, it was too late.
“What happened?” Asher asks, and I press my fingers to the bridge of my nose, trying to get my thoughts in order over the pain in my chest.
“Maggie and I got together a few weeks ago.” I tell him, realizing how long it’s been since we last spoke.
“We both knew that was coming,” he mutters, not sounding at all surprised. “That doesn’t explain a middle of the night phone call, unless you’re calling so I can congratulate you on finally pulling the stick out of your ass.”
“Fuck,” I curse under my breath, feeling pain slice through my chest, the same pain I felt when I saw tears in Maggie’s eyes and heard her soft words.
That’s not love, Sven. You asking that of me is not love.
She was right; me asking that of her had nothing to do with love.
“What did you do?”
“Told her to choose between me and her sister.”
“What the fuck, man?” he rumbles, sounding pissed.
“Yeah.” I agree.
“Jesus, you seriously fucked up.”
“I already know that. Now I need to know what the fuck to do to get out of this mess.”
“Where is she now?” he asks, blowing out a breath, and I know he thinks I’m as fucked as I think I am.
“At her parents’.” When she left, I had Justin follow her to make sure she was, and still is, safe. I wanted to go after her, but after what happened, I didn’t want her to spot my car, get pissed, and get hurt while trying to get away from me.
“Can you go there?” he asks quietly.
“Not sure how that’s gonna go over, and not sure I want the first time I meet her parents to be the same time I’m dragging her kicking and screaming from their house.”
“Kicking and screaming?” He chuckles, but I’m not joking. If I got there and she refused to come home with me, I’d bring her back with me no matter how that came about. “You’re not joking.” His laughter dies and I shake my head, even though he can’t see me do it. “You call her?”